Fans’ punch up: leave fighting to the boxers, guys

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Bob Westerdale

Published:20:24

A decorated group of boxing luminaries were being introduced between bouts, to an appreciative audience at the Magna Centre, Rotherham.

Then, out of the blue, a fight.

Not in the ring...but a scrap between a hand-full of macho hot-heads trading blows with each other.

They formed a distasteful huddle of men old enough to know better, clashing in several spots as they moved around the show floor.

It didn’t last long; the security guys were efficient and decisive, once they’d got a handle on who was throwing the punches and the insults in the melee.

Meanwhile, the likes of boxing champion guests Lewis Taylor, Nav Mansouri and Muheeb Fazeldin were looking down on the troublemakers with barely concealed contempt.

Sam O'Maison is victorious against Anthony Hardy

Ross Burkinshaw, who was formally announcing his ring retirement over the microphone, summed it up wisely.

“People have a drink, they think they can fight. It takes a lot more than that to be a boxer” he told the crowd, to a courteous round of applause.

The true Saturday night hard men are those who train hard, live the right life and show respect inside the ropes for the sweet science of boxing.

The mindless confrontation was an unwanted blemish on an otherwise honourable event, showcasing up and coming talent mainly from the South Yorkshire area. And it was crowned by an act of ruthless professionalism from headline act Sam O’maison, 24.

The former postman, who has quit his job to concentrate full-time on his ring craft, delivered in chilling style.

His opponent 23-year-old Anthony Hardy had started the fight with obvious aggression, baring his teeth as he sent a big shot O’maison’s way.

The Shiregreen bill-topper dealt with it, sized his man up and ended the brief battle of southpaws with a savage right hand to the chin. It was lights out for Hardy after just 30 seconds...the first time he’d ever been stopped. It was, said his trainer Ryan Rhodes simply a “great KO.”

Equally as pleasing, if not so dramatic, was the return to the venue for Waleed Din.

Last time he’d boxed there he lost his unbeaten record and a Commonwealth flyweight title shot. His come-back match against Stefan Slavchev (Bulgaria) took a while to excite, but he won every round. Din took too many shots early on, a sign of ring and training-rustiness against an opponent with a bizarre habit of lifting his right hand as though he was some kind of pugilistic scorpion. By the sixth round Slavchev was pretty much pinned to the ropes.

The picks of the undercard were Doncaster super bantam Tom Bell’s win over game and previously unbeaten Glaswegian Scott McCormack and Kyle Youaf’s easy romp over Sergey Tasimar.

Meanwhile in Belfast, Doncaster’s Maxi Hughes beat home favourite, James Fryers on a split decision, to become mandatory challenger for the British super featherweight Title.